Improvement in corn-poppers



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P. E..STOOKWELL & J.VVMYINNINGHOFP.

Corn Popper.

No. 201,959. Patented April 2, 1878.

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I-nvejzt ors N,FETERS, PNOTOJJTHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON. D C.

UNIT D S AT-Es? PATENT OFFICE.

iFRANK E. STOOKWELL AND osnPH MINNINGHOFF, orcovmeron, KY, ASSIGNORS TO FREDERICK: J. MEYERS, or SAME PLACE.

I IMPROVEMENT IN CORN-POPPERS.

S ecification forming part of Letters Patent No. 201,959, dated April 2, 1878; application filed August 27, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK E. SrooKwELL and J osEPH MINNINGHOFF, both of (loving- I ton, Kenton county, Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn- Poppers, of which the following is a specificationz .This invention relates tothat class of cornpoppers which consist, essentially, of a wire basket or receptacle having its edge or margin protected by a sheet-metal binding or frame 5 and the first part of our improvements comprises a novel shape of the basket.

Heretofore such baskets have been made with sharp angles or corners at the junctions of the sides and ends, thus producing avery ungainly device, and one which could bemanufactured only by very slow and careful hand-work. Our basket, on the contrary, has the junctions of its sides and ends rounded off, thereby enhancing the appearance of the popper, and also enabling it to be manufactured by machinery in the most expeditious, uniform, and economical manner.

The second part of our invention consists in a novel combination of devices for attaching the basket to the handle or shaft of the popper. This union is eflected by means of two wire braces or supports, that extend lengthwise of the basket and underneath the same, said wires being bent upwardly at each end of the basket. These wires are secured at one end to the surrounding frame of the basket, while the opposite ends of said wires are twisted together spirally, thereby producing a male screw capable of engagement with the Wooden handle of the popper. These wires are secured to the basket near said screw by means of a clip-plate, which latter is attached, by a rivet or otherwise, to that end of said basket to which the lid of the popper is hinged, as more fully described hereinafter.

In the annexed drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective View of our improved corn-popper, the basket being shown detached from the bandle; and Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, a portion of the lid being broken'away.

The basket or receptacle A, which is preferably of an oblong shape, is composed of wire-cloth, and has its upper edge or margin secured within a sheet-metal binding or rim, B. The sides and ends of the basket may join the bottom of the same at any convenient angle; but the junctions of the ends and sides of said basket are rounded off, as at O, which curves 0 may be of any desired radius.

Hinged to rim B .at D I) is a frame,-E, to which latter the cover or lid'F is secured in the usual manner, the corners of said frame being rounded off, as at G, so as to correspond with the shape of said rim. H is a spring snap or catch, that retains the lid E F in its closed condition. Extending longitudinally beneath the basket are two supporting wires or braces, I 1, whose front ends are bent upwardly, and finally secured to the rim B at i i, as seen in Fig. 2. The opposite or rear ends of these wires are also bent upwardly, and are passed through the ears or clips J J of a plate, K, the latter being secured torim B with rivet L, or otherwise. The terminations of these wires are twisted together spirally atM, thereby affording a male screw capable of ready engagement with handle N after a suitable hole has been bored in the latter. In manufacturing our poppers the baskets A, with their rounded corners G, are made on.

one machine, and the rims B, with their rounded' corners b, are produced on another machine, after which a separate rim is applied to the upper edge of each basket. Each rim is so applied to a basket as to cause the rounded portions 1) of the former to fit snugly upon the corners C of the latter, while the straight portions of said rim embrace the sides and ends of said basket A. The rim is then securely crimped or clamped to this basket by a machine especially adapted for such work.

It is evident this crimping or binding of the entire rim to the basket could not be eflected with any machine if the basket were made with square or sharp corners, as such an angu lar shape, added to the increased thickness of material at the junctions of the ends and sides of receptacle A, would prevent the use of a machine in applying said rim B to said receptacl A.

The arrangement of wires I t I i and clipplate J J K affords an unually secure method of supporting the basket from the handle, while the readily-constructed male screw M enables said basket being applied to this handle N in a few moments. This arrangement of screw-connection M also prevents the basket A being twisted or bent out of shape by the insertion of rivets or other positive retaining devices wherewith poppers are usually secured to their handles. screw M, being composed of but two wires, is not liable to split the handle Nwhen engaged therewith. 7V

We are aware that it is not new to secure the basket of a corn-popper to the supportinghandle by means of four wires twisted together so as to form a screw, and therefore we expressly limit our claim to this male screw when composed of two wires only, as above described.

We have described our receptacle or basket A as oblong, but reserve the right of making it perfectly square, or of giving it any other non-circular shape in its horizontal section; but in either of its modified forms the sides and ends of the basket are to be united together with rounded or curved portions 0, as previously described.

Furthermore, this male' We claim as our invention 1. The corn-popper basket or receptacle A, of non-circular shape'in its horizontal section, and having outwardly-flaring sides and ends joined by the rounded portions 0, the upper edge of said basket being bound with a sheetmetal rim, B, bent at b to fit said rounded portions G, as herein described.

2. The two wire supports I I, applied to the bottom and opposite ends of basket A in the manner described, and having their extremities twisted together spirally, so as to produce a male screw, M, capable of engagement with handle N, as herein described and set forth.

3. Animprovedcorn-popper consisting of basket A B b O, hinged lid D D E F G, supporting-wires I i I i, clip-plate J J K L, and male screw M, which screw is formed by twisting together the ends of said wires 1 I, substantially as herein described and set forth.

In testimony of which invention we hereunto set our hands.

FRANK E. STOOKWELL. JOSEPH MINNINGHOFF.

Witnesses: JAMES H. LAYMAN, FRED. J. MEYERS. 

